Aurora's P.O.V:
A slow beeping sound woke me up from a deep slumber.
At first, everything in front of my eyes was hazy, unfocused, but slowly, as I blinked several times, my vision started to clear. But still the drowsiness wanted to take over me, lull me back into a deep sleep. But I fought the urge. Something felt wrong…different. And it scared me.
Forcing my eyes open with all the strength I had, I looked up at the clear white ceiling and immediately knew that I was no longer in my own house.
My house was falling apart, with fine cracks spreading like spider-webs on the ceiling and paint that was crusting off in flakes. This ceiling looked brand new and well kept.
Fuck! Was I in a hospital? No! I couldn’t be! They would ask too many questions…
I remembered what had happened at the party…and then getting home to find out that I had been sold off by my father…and those men…Mr. Hemming…
I shut my eyes tightly as I tried to keep those memories away. I didn’t want to remember what happened next. My memories were still foggy and I felt so lost, so confused. But then, another thought hit me like a physical blow.
Shit!
Riley!
Did he come home to find me like this? Did his friend’s parents take me to the hospital?
NO!
Fear like I had never known before gripped my heart in its icy fists.
I sat up on the bed, looking around the unfamiliar room for a way to escape. A nauseating feeling took over me as my vision went blank temporarily; but after a few seconds, I felt fine once again…as fine as a survivor of a near-death experience could feel. There were several monitors that were attached to my body, including an IV drip. I had to get them off! I had to get out of here! I couldn’t let the cops get to me! I just couldn’t!
It was also when I noticed that my left arm was in a cast from below my elbow to my thumb. A sling around my neck helped support my arm, and I think I was right in assuming that my wrist was broken. It also meant that I would have to work with one hand only.
With trembling fingers, I tried to pry off the wires that were attached to my body. I was extremely weak, because even this simple task felt herculean when I tried to take them off. But I was determined not to give up. I had to escape. I had to get to Riley!
One by one, the wires came off. However, the last one was the most difficult one since it was connected to the heart monitor that kept making the beeping noise. The wire was attached to two points, one a little below my left breast and the other above. But first, I bent over the bed, trying to reach the monitor. There was a red and a green button at the side and I was guessing that the red one turned it off. My heart rate increased as I moved forward to push the button and then…the sound stopped.
The room became eerily quiet for a few moments, making me wonder exactly where I was. The overhead light was dim, so my vision wasn’t fully clear yet. But as the seconds ticked by…I began to hear hushed voices, and they seemed to be coming from outside the door.
Moving my legs off the bed, I placed them gently on the carpeted floor and pulled out the last of the two wires. I was wearing a clean white robe, unusual for a hospital, but that wasn’t my primary concern right now.
I stood up after taking my time. It was hard to regain my balance at first and I almost tumbled back down onto the bed, but I caught a hold of the nearest table. The equipment on top of the table made a slight rattling noise and for an instant, my heart thrashed against my chest in fear. But when no one rushed inside immediately, and the hushed voices continued…I stood up straight.
Letting go of the table, I took slow, measured steps towards the door. It felt extremely draining, but I had to get away.
I went to the door, turned the knob as softly as I could, but when I looked outside…I was surprised to find the one person that I had never expected to find. Caleb. And he wasn’t alone.
“You knew all this time?” Spoke a woman with light blonde hair that looked almost white under the lights. She was wearing a champagne colored dress that reached her knees and hugged her figure perfectly. There was no way that this woman was a day over thirty, but from the familiar facial features, I could tell she was related to Caleb one way or the other. At present however, she looked up at Caleb in disappointment; her face drawn in harsh lines.
“Yes.” Caleb answered quietly. I couldn’t see his face as he was turned away from me, but from the tone of his voice…I was surprised. I had never seen him acting so obediently with anyone. Neither had I ever heard him sound so guilty.
“Then you should’ve taken better care of her.” Spoke the man who was standing next to the woman. “We do not treat our mates with such disrespect! That is not how we raised you, Caleb!”
There was no way this man was Caleb’s father…right? Standing an inch or two taller than Caleb, the man was a splitting image of Caleb, only a bit older and more muscular. He was dressed in a black suit, pants and a black shirt underneath. The only pop of color in his entire outfit was the golden tie around his neck. However, there was an air of authority around him that eve I could feel from this far.
These two beautiful looking people were actually Caleb’s parents? Could it really be possible?
“I thought it was a mistake…” Caleb whispered now. “I didn’t think the Goddess would give me a human mate. I wanted to be completely sure…”
“The Goddess doesn’t make mistakes, son.” The woman told her, her brows still frowning. “You should know that better than anyone! You are going to be the future Alpha.”
Alpha? Mate? Goddess?
What the hell was going on around here? What on earth were they tal-
And just like that, the memories that I had been keeping at bay rushed in all at once, and everything because crystal clear.
Suddenly…I remembered Caleb turning into a wolf in front of my eyes, just as those men were about to…
The shock of the whole event made me stumble backward and fall to the floor as my feet got tangled in the carpet.
The door opened wider with a creaking sound and I found three shocked faces looking at me from the hallway.
Caleb seemed to be the first person to regain his composure. “Aurora…” he spoke quietly as he took a step towards me, but that made me scramble backwards in fear.
I looked up at the three of them, my eyes wide with fear. I couldn’t get up anymore because neither did I have the strength, nor the means to escape. My left arm was disabled and my entire body was trembling. How could I escape from here? Where even was here?
Were they…going to kill me? For watching Caleb turn into a wolf? Was I dreaming? Was all this just a nightmare or had I landed in hell?
But when I saw the other two people try to move forwards, I held up my injured arm, hoping that the cast would protect me from danger.
“I-I-I won’t t-tell…a-anyone…” I managed to stutter out, my voice sound hoarse as my throat dried up in alarm. My heart was beating so fast that it threatened to burst out of my chest. “P-pl-please…p-please…d-don’t h-hurt me…”
The woman’s face turned from concerned to horrified as she looked up at the man beside her. Both Caleb and the man, that I assumed was his father, looked at me in horror as well.
That made me back up even further.
I wasn’t comfortable here. I wanted to leave. I wanted to go home, no matter how unsafe it was! I wanted to find Riley!
“Aurora!”
That was when I saw Caroline running into the hallway, in a white cardigan and jeans, and instantly, I felt calmer.
“C-Caroline…”
I reached out my hand for her and she sidestepped Caleb and his family and came running into the room and took me into her arms. A sudden sense of relief filled my veins as I let her embrace me.
“You’re safe, Aurora.” Caroline whispered in a soothing voice, her hands running up and down my back gently, in a soothing manner. “You’re safe now. No one will hurt you ever again. You’re safe.”
But I wasn’t…I wasn’t safe…especially not here…
“C-Cal…w-wo-wolf…” I managed to stutter out, clutching onto her for dear life.
But Caroline didn’t answer for the longest time as she kept on rubbing my back soothingly.
Slowly, I saw Caleb’s parents leave the area. Caleb stayed for a few more seconds, lingering back as he looked at me with something akin to longing in his eyes. I closed my eyes tightly, afraid to look at him. I had no idea what was going on.
When I opened my eyes again, after I don’t know how long…I found the hallways empty, much to my relief. Caroline moved away from me then, and I was feeling a lot calmer now that there was only me and her in the room.
“C-Caroline…Caleb…I saw…” I tried to explain to her, but I had no idea what to do to make her understand without sounding like a crazy fool.
“I know, I know.” She told me, her demeanor oddly calm.
“No…you can’t …they…I saw…Caroline! I saw him turn…wolf!” My words were a jumbled mess, but I hoped that my point would get across to her.
And I think it did, because Caroline pressed her palms to my cheek, looking me dead in the eyes as she said, “I know, Aurora.” There was a kind of understanding in them that I hadn’t expected to find.
Startled at the revelation, I looked up at Caroline with wide eyes. “Y-you know?”
“Yes…I know.” Caroline told me with a small smile, her hands on my shoulders. But nothing could have prepared me for what she told me next.
“I know because…I’m just like him. Me and all our friends. We’re just like him, Aurora. We’re all wolves.”